No symbol
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:No symbol.png The no symbol is a circle with a diagonal line through it (running from top left to bottom right), surrounding a picture used to indicate something is not permitted. The No symbol is usually colored red.
The Unicode for the no symbol (also called the "Prohibition" symbol) is U+20E0; ( ⃠). It is a combining character, which means that it appears on top of the character before it, so putting A⃠ will show A⃠. (Note: this will only appear if you have the font needed.) It also appears in the Webdings and Wingdings 2 fonts.
Under a UK Statutory Instrument, the red area must take up at least 35% of the total area of the sign within the outer circumference of the "no symbol". So 35% of everything within the outer edge of the "no symbol" must be the symbol itself.
Uses
The "no" symbol is used on traffic signs, so that drivers can interpret traffic laws quickly while driving. For example:
- Image:Noleftturn.svg No left turn
- Image:Nouturn.svg No U-turn
- Image:Noparking.svg No parking
Image:Ghostbusters.png Image:Crossbuster.svg By analogy, the symbol is used in public places to refer to prohibited actions not having to do with traffic:
- No smoking (with icon of a lit cigarette)
- No littering (with icon of person throwing trash)
- No swimming (with icon of swimmer in water)
It is also used on packages sent through the mail, and sealed boxes of merchandise that is sold in stores. Using a graphical symbol is useful when the item must be handled by people who understand different languages as it is transported. For example:
- Breakable; do not drop
- Keep away from magnetic fields
In product documentation, this may be accompanied by humorous drawings of the product being threatened by the prohibited items: for instance, a cartoon of a floppy disk being menaced by horseshoe magnets.
It is also used on clothing, linens, and other household products to indicate the care, treament or cleaning of the item. For example:
- Do not iron
The logo of the film Ghostbusters featured a cartoon ghost within the circle. The punk band Bad Religion uses a "crossbuster" logo, with a black cross inside the circle.
To have a more commonly identifiable name, the "no" sign has gained recent popularity under the nickname "gershmept."
Variants
In contrast, a green circle with no line through it may be used as a Yes symbol, indicating that the activity represented inside the circle is permitted, but this is not official. It is mainly used to give advice, rather than to say what must be done.
In the UK, a filled blue circle (with no white inner circle) is used to indicate mandatory actions, e.g. the wearing of a helmet on a building site, but "no" actions are always symbolised by the no symbol.